Broken Cages
by Regina Evans
Summary: Trying to stay as accurate TO THE MOVIES as possible. It'll take a while to build to Charles/Erik but it will be there. I'm writing this as a sequel to First Class. A powerful mutant is discovered, but is too powerful and Magneto doesn't care.
1. Chapter 1

Water splashed back and forth as Azazel played with a glass of whatever alcohol he'd managed to obtain. Raven was washing something in the kitchen sink. Angel beat her wings and Riptide conjured some small whirlwinds. It all sounded the same to him.

Metal started buzzing around the room and they all looked up at Erik. His fingers were white while he pressed his hands on either side of his helmet. It was just too much. He broke. "STOP WITH THE GOD DAMN WATER."

Erik tried to remain as calm as possible as a leader, but some things just set him off beyond his control. Water was one of them. As he briskly made his way to another room he tried not to think about beaches or waves. He tried not to think about the first tears he'd cried in years. He tried not to think about being pulled by a submarine to his death until he was stopped by-

He finally made it to his room and his coin was nearly lethal as it rocketed out of his pocket and began weaving through his fingers. He took a few deep breaths, pushing away the memories, the guilt, the-

"God damn it." He muttered to himself. "He was a friend. The betrayal of interest and loss of a powerful ally has gotten to me. Having him against me hinders my goal. That's what's wrong. Betrayal of interest. He's against me. That's all." He repeated that over and over until he forgot what he was originally thinking about and simply focused on the coin's path around his fingers. He sighed, his mind now blank, cold, and bloodthirsty. "None of this would be happening if it weren't for the humans."

He returned to the room. They all stared at him, Raven the only one with concern. Emma came out from wherever she'd been. Erik, no, Magneto cleared his throat. "We're moving it to tonight."

Emma moved toward the sink after sifting through the memories of the others. She flicked the water on and watched Magneto cringe. She remembered seeing Shaw's dead body dropped ruthlessly to the floor. As much of a jerk as Shaw was to her, she still liked him. He was confident, powerful, and kind of sexy for an old guy.

Magneto quickly lowered the handle of the metal sink and continued. "Tonight. We're moving it up, because we all need to get out of this place and away from each other." He glanced at Raven. "Are you sure you want to do this? This is a long term mission, Raven."

She looked up at him sadly, but confidently. She got up and stood next to him. "Anything for the brotherhood." She brushed his lips with her own and grabbed his hand.

Erik's eyes didn't change from their emotionless state. "Azazel?"

Azazel got up and held Raven's hand. He took it quite firmly, causing her to scowl. Magneto's eyes locked with Emma's for a split second before they disappeared with a puff of smoke, but it was long enough to see the combination of hatred and respect.

In a blink of the eye, Magneto, Raven and Azazel were in the cover of darkness outside of the pentagon. Raven tore her hand out of Azazel's grip. Erik squeezed her hand and she looked at him and quickly grabbed his other hand. She placed her lips on his, a little awkward with the helmet on. She held there for a while and he didn't move but he didn't respond. He broke the kiss and looked down at her with the concern of a father or elder brother. "You're sure you want to do this?"

She smiled, but there was some fear in her eyes. "You keep asking that. Yes, I do."

Azazel stood to the side, not saying anything. He just let them have their moment or whatever it was they were doing.

Erik stared at the lovely blue creature in front of him. She really was extraordinarily beautiful. "I don't know when I'll see you again. Or when anyone will see you again." He paused and she stepped back and morphed into Colonel Hendry, who no one knew was dead. He smiled at her, but felt guilty for having inspired such a potentially dangerous idea. "This will bring a great advantage to our side. I…" He grew quite serious. "I will keep you in my thoughts, Raven. You keep gaining more and more of my respect and I'm very proud of you." He looked over at Azazel and beckoned him over. He took Magneto's hand. "Good luck in there."

And then she was alone.

(Perspective Change)

Thunder and lightning shook the mansion, but Charles wasn't woken because he wasn't asleep. He sat very still in his bed and stared at the ceiling. The students' many dreams were floating through his telepathy. Sean was dreaming he was a fish and it was a refreshingly young thing to witness, those innocent dreams of silliness. Meanwhile, Alex was seeing what no one else had seen, the last glimpse of Darwin's face before he died. Charles knew the young man blamed himself for not stopping Darwin and has yet to forgive himself. Charles reached his telepathy toward Raven's room, hoping to catch something. It was a childish and fanciful attempt. He knew she wasn't there. He just thought maybe it was all a dream. Maybe he's finally woken up and they haven't gotten on the plane for Cuba yet. But Raven and Erik's rooms were empty.

Rain poured onto the rooftop. It sounded like waves, like oceans and beaches, like his last moments with Erik. 'My friend!' He called out in his mind, trying without success to widen the radius of his telepathy. 'Surely you can hear me!' _Come home._

(PC)

Erik looked up relieved as he finally made it to the mansion, trudging through mud and pouring rain. He'd had Azazel take him to a nearby town so he wouldn't know about the place. Erik knew he was in Charles' radius and that the helmet was all that was keeping him out. He just…hadn't decided yet. He needed to know how much damage he caused. He just wasn't sure if he could face them all. He sighed and tried to find a spot under a tree away from the ever taunting water. He slowly took off his helmet and regardless of the hour, got a response.

'Erik?'

(PC)

Charles startled in his bed. _Had Erik heard him?_ 'Erik?' Through his frazzled shock, he accidently dove farther into his mind than he should've. He felt the connection break as Erik put the helmet back on. Charles was in a frenzy. 'Don't go. Please, Erik, don't go yet.'

He knew Erik couldn't hear him, but he tried to buy some time. He dragged himself to the end of the bed and sloppily fell into the wheelchair. He didn't think about why he was in it or the fact that he couldn't walk. All that mattered was that he had to stop Erik from leaving.

He got to the back door and opened it. From his spot on the porch, he could see to his right a dark figure under the tree. Something wet hit his cheek, he never figured out if it was a raindrop or a tear. "Erik."

(PC)

He glanced up at the open door and wasn't sure what he was seeing. Was Charles sitting down? As he made his way over, he realized what it was and froze. He spoke quietly, but Charles could hear him. "Charles, that's a wheelchair."

The man whose physical scars were now equal to the other's emotional ones, rolled out into the rain. "You couldn't have known, Erik."

He clenched his teeth. "Magneto. My name is Magneto. Your _chair_ is going to rust in this weather."

Magneto turned around but he heard the squeak of Charles following him. "Please don't go. It doesn't have to be like this. We can work together to help this world."

He spoke without turning around. "I don't want to _help_ it like you do. I want to change it."

At this point, both men were drenched and Charles was supposed to be on bed rest. He sneezed and Erik faltered. He was still a friend. A friend he'd hurt. He at least owed him some help. Erik took off the helmet and handed it to Charles. "Hold this for me."

He then turned Charles' wheelchair around and rolled him inside. On entering he took of his cape and jacket. Charles watched with a smile as Erik's jacket came off to reveal a turtleneck. Some things never change.

They stayed in a heavy yet comfortable silence as Erik brought Charles to his room. Charles fiddled with the helmet in his hands, knowing it's what had come between them, quite literally. He wanted to smash it or throw it into the ocean, but he'd asked him to hold it. That required a bit of trust, did it not?

They arrived in the room and Charles brought himself to the bed. Erik rolled his eyes. "God, Charles. You're soaked. Aren't you going to change?"

Charles froze and glanced back at where Erik stood by the door. "It's just harder…now…" He sneezed again.

"Where are your extra clothes?" Charles directed him, feeling useless and weak, but appreciative. Erik helped Charles onto the bed and left the room as Charles changed.

It was silent again except for some rustling. Charles broke the silence. "Erik?"

He sighed from the hallway. "It's Magneto."

Charles hesitated. "Right, of course…why did you come here?"

Erik took a deep breath. There were many things he could say, but he settled for the truth. "I had to know. I had to know what the bullet did. How bad it was. I…I never thought it'd be this bad. The chair is temporary, right? Just for the beginning of recovery?" Charles answered the question with silence. Erik cursed quietly. Charles had finished changing and Erik returned to the room. He stared at his friend's motionless legs. "Never?" Charles shook his head minutely. Erik looked at the puddle on the floor where Charles had thrown the wet clothes and picked them up and brought them to the sink. He then felt stupid. _What on earth am I doing here?_ He sat at a chair that was by the bed. Lightning flashed in the window behind him. "I cannot begin to-"

"Erik, don't. Don't apologize."

"I could've killed you, Charles! This, _this_ is lucky! Do you know how wrong it is to say being paralyzed is _lucky_? I did this, you said so yourself."

Charles wasn't sure what to say. Yes, it was Erik's fault, but he didn't want to hear an apology from him. Maybe it was childish, maybe it was pride. He was sick of being pitied. He wasn't any less of the man he was before the chair. Why should he be treated differently now? "Just don't apologize, okay? Do that for me and we're even."

Erik simply stared at him. "Even? _Even?_ Charles, I knew your optimism verged on insanity but this is too far even for you. We will never be 'even.' Not unless you're planning on sawing my legs off before I leave tonight."

There were too many silences in which so much hung between them. "In all seriousness, _Erik_, I can't let you kill anyone." Erik was about to cut in but Charles raised his voice over him to finish. "I don't understand why they must die!" He looked at him, his eyebrows furrowed and his lips pursed. "What did they do to deserve to die, Erik? They were _born_. They didn't choose to not be mutants. It's genetics. Probability, _chance_. They just haven't had time to understand. _Please_, Erik. Give them some time."

He stopped correcting Charles about his name. "A year. One year. If they raise a finger against one of our fellow mutants, I will be there to fight. They have a year to accept we are above them."

"Dammit, Erik!" Charles' blood was nearly boiling. "You're being ridiculous! Are you a child at recess playing king of the hill?"

"Charles, you know they're below us, we're the next stage in human evolution-"

Charles sighed. "I swear, Erik. If you try to quote me and use my words against me again. You've killed Shaw."

"It was a shame he killed my mother. In another situation, he would've made a good ally." Erik didn't understand what Charles' problem was. This all made perfect sense to him.

"God, Erik. Shaw wasn't the type to be an ally. And you- …" He stopped himself, unwilling to antagonize his short tempered friend. But it was too late.

"I what?" Erik's lips were a thin line. His eyes were cold as he anticipated the words Charles was about to say.

They stared at each other: Erik daring Charles to say it, Charles biting his tongue. Finally Charles gave in. "You're just like him. You proved that on the beach. You could've easily just dropped the missiles, Erik."

The words were out and they stung Erik more than he expected. A lot more than he expected. He made the only argument he could. "If you'd been in Poland…my family and our friends, we didn't fight. And you see where that got us? If we want to survive being hunted, we have to eliminate those who are hunting us."

There was another silence. Charles remembered what he'd seen in Erik's memories. His argument held some truth. "This is different. They aren't hunting to maintain peculiar ideals. They're hunting because they're scared of what they do not know. And God, Erik. Why do you assume they're hunting? They panicked on the beach. It was the logical military rebuttal for the situation. They were scared. We just have to quell their fear!"

Erik shook his head. "No. I saw your eyes, Charles. You expected more from them." He broke eye contact for a moment. "I knew you expected more from them, but you had to know. You can have your optimism as you relax in your home, but not on the battlefield, Charles. If I hadn't been there…who would have stopped it? Would Azazel have graciously taken everyone out of there or just himself?" Charles had thought about this also. They all would've been dead without Erik. He could've argued more, but he hadn't slept for three days now. He tried to stifle a yawn, but Erik saw it. Charles saw a bit of concern in his eyes but it was gone in a moment. "You should sleep, Charles."

Charles wished he could argue. He wished he had the energy, but he just nodded his head. Erik stood. "Wait, Erik." Erik looked down at his friend, watched him use his elbows to prop himself up and Erik broke again. The calm control fell from his eyes. Charles could see the emotion in his eyes, but didn't say anything. He simply held out his hand. Erik glanced at it. "Friends. Promise me we'll still be friends through this."

The sun peaked through the clouds. Neither of them had noticed the rain stop. A small smirk made its way onto Erik's face and clashed with his guilt stricken eyes. "Oddly symbolic." Charles managed a small laugh, but Erik could see how red his eyes were now that there was some light. And pale. He thought he was pale before but now he looked nearly dead. Erik took Charles hand and shook it.

Charles brought up his other hand and held Erik's hand in his. "Good luck, my friend."

Erik grabbed his helmet and left the room. 'I may be fighting, but I'm fighting for all of us. You're sitting on a battlefield. Someone has to protect you. I'm fighting for you.'

Regardless of the newly arrived sunlight, the room was empty and cold.


	2. Chapter 2

((I tried to do research on how long hospitalization is for an injury like Charles' but I couldn't find even an estimate. The most he'd recover would be after 6 months so I'm going to pretend that Charles is 2 months into his recovery even though I can't be positive what his condition would be at that point. This is probably being too specific, but I wanted to be a little realistic. Now I could do more background research on the minor characters, but I kind of want to make it up. Sorry if it bothers anyone. Also note, the movie timelines are kind of…well they're effed up. So I'm just shuffling everything into timeframes that fit my needs ^^ I apologize for Emma's long rant in advance. I posthumously apologize for this long rant in the beginning as well and while I'm at it, I have a few chapters ready, but I'm going to put up one a week with the hope that I'll be able to get more chapters ready instead of having a giant update gap.))

Emma and Riptide were alone at headquarters. No one knew where headquarters was except for Azazel. He took them all in and out so cabin fever wasn't unheard of. Emma looked around the place. There were no doors so she liked to assume they were below ground somewhere, not that she knew for sure. It must've been a giant rectangle. Half of the space was a hallway and each of their rooms, the other half a sort of lounge and the kitchen. There were only four rooms and seeing how Raven and Emma got along and how Magneto and everyone else got along, Riptide and Azazel were originally going to share a room, but Riptide always ended up on the couch. Emma glanced at the man she'd worked with so long but never really knew. There was nothing to do with Azazel gone so she sighed and sat down next to him on the couch.

"Riptide, I never really wasted my time or energy to delve into what must be the shallow waters of your mind. So please, indulge me." Now this wasn't necessarily true on Emma's part. She did try, but she wasn't about to admit that. He just…didn't seem to be thinking anything of importance and there wasn't much to see, or so she hoped. Anything else would mean he's been avoiding her scrutiny and she didn't know how he was doing that.

He stopped his whirlwind and stared up at her. "Just thinking about strategies."

Emma rolled her eyes. "Yes, I know you are. I meant your past."

He shrugged and went back to his whirlwind. "That's really all it's been. Shaw found me when I was just a kid. Don't remember anything before that. When Magneto killed him, I wasn't sure what I'd do. But then Magneto took over and he's been easy enough to follow."

Her eyebrows furrowed. "Yeah, because he's barely done anything." The whirlwind kept spinning. 'He saved you. I wouldn't say that's barely anything.' Emma raised an eyebrow, but decided not to respond. She sighed, frustrated, and turned to see what there was to do around this place. They'd only been there about two months and she'd spent the time trying to get Magneto to take his helmet off. She'd never spent such a long period of time locked out of someone's head. With him not around, there really wasn't much to do.

With a puff of smoke, Azazel appeared. Emma's eyes narrowed. "Where's Magneto?" Azazel went back to the alcohol he'd been drinking before he left. He shrugged, but didn't say anything. He didn't have anything against the woman, he just wasn't looking for a conversation right now. He was far more interested in the escape that alcohol so graciously offered.

Though no one cared to notice it, Emma did have boundaries that she didn't cross when it came to her telepathy. She'd known that Azazel joked with himself that Raven was a colored woman like him, but she also knew he never intended for it to take him this far. Emma left him alone with his alcohol. She pretended not to know, but that didn't mean she didn't sense that sinking feeling from him whenever Raven kissed Magneto. And Emma didn't need to be telepathic to know that Magneto wasn't interested, which she respected. The man had a goal and wasn't even distracted by a naked woman kissing him. She almost joked that he was gay once, but found her necklace tighten around her throat before she said it. Magneto was so discreet with it that no one else noticed and Emma didn't have a reason to tell anyone. She really did like him as a leader. He wasn't acting through a superiority complex like Shaw. He was trying to protect the mutants. It was almost fatherly. But that the same time, he had no problem with killing humans and did still believe that they were inferior. And there was that time…no one had ever spoken to her like that.

_Magneto had called Emma into his room that doubled as an office of sorts. He had her make sure no one could hear them. When she told them no one could, he _trusted_ her without a second thought. His eyes were the usual: dead, grey, emotionless. "From what I've noticed, telepaths tend to be very perceptive." He didn't look into her eyes, just stared into the distance. "I'm sorry about your necklace. I just didn't need them to hear something like that, no matter how much you were joking. I know you must be frustrated, since I never take this off." He tapped on his helmet. "So I'll tell you rather than you digging uncontrollably through my head." At this, she had nearly collapsed. How could this man be so brutal, yet so…understanding? "My past in the camps never gave me much time to waste thinking about something as pointless as emotions, the least of which was love. Shaw drained my emotions out of me and I would've completely forgotten them had I not met another mutant just as stubborn as I was. Problem was, he's also a telepath and he got in my head. He brought back an ounce of compassion that I tossed aside when I had those missiles on the beach." He'd sighed then and she saw some tension leave his shoulders and some color return to his eyes. He partially dropped the façade he'd been carrying for so long. "Anyway, I just never had time to think about that and with Raven how she is, I've been a little more than tense on the matter and I snapped." The façade came back as quickly as it had left. "This never happened, understood?" His eyes held a threat that words could never equal. She left the room quietly, more shocked by the treatment than by the story._

'With Raven how she is.' What on earth did he mean by that? She made her way to her room and sat down on her bed, leaving Riptide and Azazel in the kitchen. She tried to remember anything that happened between them other than Raven's flirting, but being a telepath with so many memories to shuffle through, it took a while. Then she sat up straight and remembered a glimpse she'd gotten.

_Raven was in Erik's room with him. They were talking about the beach. Raven sounded frustrated. "Erik, we didn't have to leave him like th-"_

"_Shut up! My name is Magneto. Don't call me that." His voice was like sandpaper._

"_Bet you'd let Charles-"_

"_RAVEN, GET OUT!"_

_She walked out talking to herself and mocking him. "It's Mystique. Don't call me that." Then she thought about the days they trained at the mansion. Remembered how happy Charles was, how happy Erik was. How happy she thought they were __**together**__._

Emma wasn't sure what to think about the thought she'd at first ignored. Though now she could connect the two memories, she hadn't wanted to listen to that brat complain at the time. In all honesty, she'd never given Raven much of a chance. She just didn't like the girl. Emma sighed and fell onto her back on the mattress. With Shaw not around, with his thoughts out of her mind, she was a lot less…aggressive. She hadn't noticed how much he affected her. She almost felt _fragile_. Emma Frost, a woman sculpted out of diamonds, felt _fragile. _But it was true.

She had to reevaluate herself. She tried to remember when she'd first met Shaw. How did she think before she met him? She thought back to the early memories. She was a young teenager and when she'd found out Shaw lied about not being a part of the facility that held her, she actually respected the lie. He, knowing she was a telepath, lied to himself completely and somehow managed to evade her scrutiny. But what about _before_ him? Her mind kept going blank. She hadn't spent much time thinking about it.

Emma attacked her own mind as if it was someone else's. There had to be something. Her sister! That brought back a few memories. She remembered Shaw's facility, her sister and that man saving her, never seeing her sister again and blaming that man, but never being able to find him again. His mind disappeared so she assumed he was dead. She watched as the man they called Gambit helped the other children out, but she returned, claiming to look for her sister. She was returning to Shaw. She knew her sister was already dead.

She loved her sister. They were quite a few years apart, but her sister had practically raised her. With voices and notions in their heads and a daughter that turned into diamonds, their parents hadn't been exactly… understanding. Emma closed her eyes and remembered her sister convincing their parents to take them to a carnival. Emma listened to all their minds during the conversation. She loved when her sister used her power and the thought flows altered. It was like…combing your hair: at first tangled, but after running a brush through it, it's organized and controlled. She had learned a lot from her sister's ability. _Kayla_… She missed her sister terr-

At that moment she heard Azazel's telltale appearance and had come out of her room to see Magneto soaked and his eyes, normally empty, holding some sort of…shimmer. Was that happiness? He cleared his throat and his eyes went cold. She bit her lip to hold back the questions she wanted to ask. He'd be moody if she tried to talk to him right now. She'd let him change, maybe she'd even let him sleep first. She wasn't sure how patient she could be, especially since Raven wasn't around anymore. Which was unfortunate because Emma would have _loved _to sift through her memories right now. She returned to her room and waited.

* * *

><p>helloooo. so i was bored today and this happened. .compost/10607624555/im-not-sure-why-i-did-this-its-for-my-fic-i  
>right click on the pictures and press open in new window to see them bigger.<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

Erik wasn't sure what to think. He wanted to take the helmet off. It was so uncomfortable and he felt like if he took it off, Charles would be there again. But that was illogical, and Emma was nearby, it wasn't worth it. He did find that he trusted Emma, not as much as Raven _or Charles_. He shook the thought from his head. Emma had started acting differently once Shaw wasn't around. He was in the middle of digging through shirts, having already changed everything else, when he heard a knock on his door. "Come in." He mumbled without looking up. He felt stupid wearing the helmet and no shirt, but when Emma walked in he knew taking off the helmet to put a shirt on wasn't a viable option.

Emma's eyes flicked over Erik's chest, but returned quickly to his eyes. "I had a few questions." It was silent for a moment, Erik waiting for her to ask and Emma waiting for permission to continue. She pressed her lips together. "If it's alright with you?"

He sat down at the small table and Emma sat across from him. All the questions she'd meant to ask disappeared and the only question she could think of was _When's the last time someone kissed you and you kissed them back? _Erik sat rather impatiently, not knowing what she was thinking of course, but Emma could tell he was growing frustrated at her silence. "That other day, when you called me in here," Magneto tensed. "Why did you tell me? Why did you…treat me like that? What did I do to earn your trust?"

His shoulders relaxed. "I do leave my helmet on a lot, but there are moments I take it off. I worried at first, but you never did anything. The fact that I have moments when I'm vulnerable and you don't take advantage of them was enough for me to trust you." She nodded, remembering the moments of anxiety that radiated out of the room in the moments Magneto didn't wear his helmet. "Was that all?"

Emma evaluated the circumstances, weighing the results of the words she could say. She knew he would blow up, but…something urged her to say it anyway. "I know how you feel about Charles."

She was against the wall in moments. Magneto's eyes were ice. His voice was that same harsh sandpaper she heard when he yelled at Raven. "Who have you told."

She swallowed, his hand loosening on her throat to let her speak. "No one. And I don't plan to. I thought you might need someone to…" She was going to say_ talk to_, but that wasn't what he needed. "use as your punching bag with Raven gone."

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "No one?" He released her and turned away, thinking. "I didn't use Raven as a punching bag." The words were unsteady as if he were just realizing how he'd treated her and that it was true. Then something seemed to occur to him. She watched as his eyes glazed over and he started rehearsing a lie he'd obviously practiced on himself. "It is unfortunate that _Xavier_ and I have such a close friendship. I do feel like I can trust him and it may hinder us in battles…"

He kept talking, more to himself than to her, and she felt a bit of pity within her, which was odd. If a few months ago, someone had told her she'd pity this man, she'd have laughed in their face. Since she'd already taken the major risk, she took a more minor one. "Erik." She said his name softly. He cringed, knowing she saw through him. "We're on the same team. Charles is a great telepath, and I realize you like having a telepath on your side and that's why I'm here, but you trusted him to be in your mind. That's how you two worked together. I can't help you if you won't let me in."

Erik felt oddly off balance as one of his followers showed more sense than their leader. What did he have to hide anymore anyway? He slowly took off the helmet and felt the familiarity of another mind mixing with his. It was different than Charles'. He felt Emma sifting through his mind, but slowly and gently. He felt himself relax. He trusted her completely now. All the anxiety of being around her dissipated.

She walked forward, both of them now comfortable. She ran her hand through his hair and muttered, "Helmet hair. That was what bothered me the most during Shaw's final days. It's pathetic." She laughed but was hesitant to take her hand away.

Erik pulled on one of her curls. "Well you're fairly precise with your own hair." A new kind of discomfort crawled into Erik. He wasn't sure what she wanted.

She smiled, but was extremely timid on the inside while she heard his thoughts. As much as she tried to deny it, she missed staying with Shaw at night. Nothing ever happened, except the first few nights. To buy her loyalty he didn't hesitate to…but that was unimportant. She missed the warmth next to her, no matter how cold the mind was and she couldn't resist the temptation of both a warm body and mind. Now she understood his relationship with Raven. She respected him and childishly wanted him, but kissing him was almost teasing him: her way of telling him how much he'd rather be kissing Ch-

But that also was unimportant right now. "Can I stay the night?"

Erik's eyes widened, but she opened her mind to him a little, showing that she only wanted comfort and maybe they both needed it. His expression didn't change much. He was considering it. Walking cautiously forward in case he should object, she closed the gap between them and placed her lips against his. After a moment's hesitation, he responded.

The next morning, Azazel and Riptide both knew Emma had once again won the battle for second in command, but this time, she hadn't been fighting.


	4. Chapter 4

When Charles woke up and heard the news of an odd attack on a prison, with the walls ripped apart and metal torn as if it were paper, he remembered how he and Erik had gotten Alex out of jail. He could only imagine who Erik broke out, now that they no longer had the government behind either of them. Little did Charles know, Erik had nothing to do with it.

~x~

The brotherhood sat in the kitchen, having an awkward and silent breakfast consisting of Emma and Magneto standing closer than usual. Azazel and Riptide almost seemed relaxed. Emma could tell they thought she was a slut, that she slept with all her bosses. But that's all it was, she and Erik had just _slept_ together. They didn't do anything more than kiss and…well, Emma couldn't resist. The man was seriously all muscle and he was actually the age he looked. But it was nothing more than a little bit of touching. Erik was hardly _that_ comfortable with her. She placed her hand on his shoulder while they sat eating, an uncharacteristically casual breakfast with them all gathered at the table. She knew there wasn't anything deep about their relationship, but this was new to her. She thought the small touches from Shaw (brushing her hair back, kissing her cheek, resting a hand her shoulder) were comforting touches, but with Erik, it was heartfelt as well. She'd melted the ice in him and he did the same for her. Emma laughed at herself. She couldn't remember ever being so…openly happy. Yet it wasn't love. They were friends. With benefits. At this she audibly laughed. Erik glanced at her, a small smirk on his lips. "What?"

He wasn't wearing the helmet anymore and that got rid of the telepathic void Emma (and Charles) found nerve wrecking. Erik was glad to be rid of the tin can and have the weight off of him, literally. She quickly relayed the thought to him and, he laughed also. He unintentionally related the easy laughter to another moment. She saw in his mind: a gun, a track suit Erik hated because he matched the other kids, a satellite, a memory. The pain seeped in and they both cringed, then looked at each other. Erik was glad to have a friend with him, as surprising as it was that Emma had a good side in her.

Emma laughed at his thoughts. 'All telepaths grow up hearing the thoughts of those around them. I'd imagine you either grow to be extremely compassionate or hate everyone around you.'

Emma's eyes went wide. "Speaking of which…" She cringed. Someone was in her head. This wasn't Charles. Even Charles wasn't powerful enough to reach her here. Wherever here was. He hasn't rebuilt Cerebro yet. This telepath formed a web between many other telepaths, but Emma and Charles, familiar with each other, quickly found each other.

'Charles, what is this?'

She could almost hear him shake his head. 'I don't know but this can't be safe. She's providing a very large threat. Help me. See what you can get about her. All I can see is that she's young, maybe 17, and angry. Very, very angry.'

Erik watched Emma, not hearing the conversations between her and Charles. After a few seconds of silence, he couldn't take it. "Emma, what's wrong?"

Charles' focus shrank back for a second as Emma accidentally relayed what she heard to Charles. She glanced at Erik. 'Charles…you like him.' It wasn't a question and Charles didn't answer.

'Where is she, where is she…oh. It was her at the prison! What was the name…J…Jean!' Then, as suddenly as it started, the connected ceased.

Emma remained silent, thinking through both the situation with the girl and the situation between these two men. Erik was on the edge of his seat. "…Emma?"

She wanted to ask him more about Charles, but not in front of the others. "A young girl, a telepath. She just created a network of sorts between telepaths. It was hard to tell how many there were, but I spoke to Charles."

Erik's face paled a little. He didn't ask how as she had expected he would. Instead, he spoke to her in her mind. 'Is he well?' He quickly covered up what could've been silence with a Leader-of-the-Brotherhood sounding response. "Did he know the girl?" Magneto chastised himself for reacting in the wrong order of importance.

'He seems very well. He got much more information than I did, but he shared.' Emma mirrored Erik's façade, giving no clue of the mental conversation. "She's young, maybe 17. Jean. She was caught up in some sort of prison accident about an hour ago. She's extremely powerful. Charles mistook the wreckage she caused as your doing, Magneto. She's telepathic and telekinetic, but most importantly: angry."

Magneto smiled, putting aside all thoughts of the first telepath of the three he now knew. "Just my type."


	5. Chapter 5

A victorious growl sounded through the mansion. It was a combination of the jet engine starting up and Beast's roar of success and pride. In a groovy combination of the speed of science and the pure intelligence of Hank McCoy, the jet engine was rebuilt in a matter of months. Charles wasted no time suiting up the X-Men to go after Jean Grey. He hadn't told Emma where to find her. He just hoped Emma hadn't seen it herself.

They took off for Philadelphia which was nearly half way between Westchester and where the _Brotherhood_ was in Washington D.C., though distance didn't matter since _they_ had Azazel. If Charles were any less of a scientist, he'd be praying right now. The plane sped through the air, but Charles felt like he was crawling. He tried not to think of how unrealistic that was as he remembered the others carrying him onto the plane. The _children_ carrying _him_. And the looks on their faces…he couldn't take it.

Breaking the silence that grew from Charles' shame, Hank announced, "We're coming up on Philadelphia. Can you find her, Professor?"

~x~

Emma sat, her face buried in her hands, with Erik's hand on her shoulder. She knew there must have been a reference to a location somewhere. There had to be. She tried to remember it all, but there was so much information, more than she was used to. She was also distracted by Erik's slow descent into the cold, ruthless shell that was Magneto. He was thinking about Jean's anger, her power, her reach was global _without Cerebro_. He needed her and the revenge seeking urges that resided within the man made him a monster.

A glimpse of something golden, maybe bronze….nothing. It was so frustrating. Emma risked a glance at Eri- no, this was Magneto. She remembered his dream from the night before. He had a nightmare where Charles said he was like Shaw. It tore Erik apart. Yet…Emma found she couldn't disagree. _He started off so well._ _He's losing his control._ Emma returned to her search with the drone of Magneto's thoughts shadowed the memories. 'The humans must pay. The humans must pay. The humans must pay. The humans must pay. The humans must pay. The humans must pay. The humans must pay.'

The bronze Emma had seen solidified in her mind's eye. It was a bell. And not just any bell. She sat up, shocking Magneto out of his mantra. "Philadelphia."

~x~

Charles cursed in a matter of seconds. It wasn't hard to find the telepathic mind games Frost and Jean were throwing at each other. "They're here. They beat us." Charles began to stand up and stopped when his legs didn't respond. He should've been used to it by now, but…the location, the adrenaline... _It's all the same._ _Why did I sit in the same seat?_ Charles tried not to imagine if he had gotten up. Where he'd stand. The handle he'd steady himself with. The man that would stand opposite of him. He'd ask if he was ready. And Charles wasn't. He wasn't ready to see him again.

Charles was grateful for the stealth mode Beast had innovated. They were able to hover right about the others, unnoticed. Charles reluctantly let his mind join the others'. Within moments Charles found that she was telekinetic. Through their eyes and ears, he heard Erik say Jean couldn't reach him. Charles was shoked that Erik would gesture to his helmet. "Damn it! You fool, Erik!"

She quickly used her telekinesis to whisk his helmet off, but Charles acted first. He knew _Magneto_ would be upset, but he hoped Erik would understand. Charles put all his focus on staying within Erik's mind and creating a wall around them both that she couldn't penetrate. 'I'm sorry, Erik.'

Charles wasn't in the plane anymore. He was with Erik.

~x~

Magneto knew something was wrong when he saw Charles walking toward him.


	6. Chapter 6

Charles also looked sadly down at his legs. "It's amazing how odd it feels to walk." His laugh was sad, trying to smile away the tension between them.

Erik glanced down at the man who stood in front of him. _Stood_ in front of him. They were on the beach again. Charles glanced at the sea and Erik followed his gaze, both remembering. Erik finally spoke, "Charles, where are we?"

Charles was reluctant to respond, but he did. "Temporarily trapped in either your mind, my mind or a combination of both."

Erik took a moment to process that, but with their minds so connected, not even Charles could manage a wall between each other. For the first time, someone had just as much access to Charles's mind as he had to theirs.

Erik was wondering what the world looked like outside their minds, where their bodies were. He assumed he was either alive or he and Charles both were dead. He also wondered what Charles was thinking. Surprisingly, he could hear. 'I was sitting in the plane but you were on the street. Nothing's happened that I can tell. Please, Azazel. Please, get him out of there. Retreat, everyone. We'll come back for her together. Oh God, Erik. Please be alright. I couldn't bear it if my actions hurt you.' Erik stared at him and waited for those bright blue eyes to meet his. Charles started to say "My friend…" but Erik cut him off.

"If my body is injured in anyway, it will simply be retribution." Charles's eyes were glossy with unshed tears, but Erik wasn't done. "You felt it." It wasn't a question. "I ran through that day in my mind so many times. You were in his head. When he…" _Died._

In a moment, Charles was remembering how it felt and Erik felt it with him, the coin burning through his mind. Charles was used to the memory, but this kind of pain was new to Erik and he staggered backwards. Charles smiled bitterly as Erik heard his unvoiced thoughts. 'And that's just the memory, a mere shadow of what it actually was.'

They both remained silent, trying and failing to block the words they wished not to say or hear.

'If you didn't trust the humans-'

'If you did. Why did Shaw have to die?'

'It was Moira's fault.'

'Your fault. Your anger.'

'My mother-'

"My sanity, my legs, my life!" Charles's voice broke with pain as he tore himself out of the mental communication. "I felt the loss of all of them, Erik!" The single tear that was so familiar to Erik fell from Charles's eyes. Erik found it hard to remember when the blue of his eyes meant warmth, a clever joke, a smile, always a smile. Now they held pain, loss, and a frantic energy that verged on insanity. His eyes also stared at Erik saying one word: betrayal. Erik knew it was true. He hadn't felt the guilt of it since he put…well not since he put the helmet on. He was emotionally numb in those moments; the first moments after so long in which Charles's warm thoughts didn't accompany his.

Charles ignored the tension and Erik watched as he stretched his legs, heard him tell himself _This isn't real_, but that he was going to take advantage of this regardless. He took off his shoes and socks. He sighed as he put his feet down. The sand beneath his toes was a feeling close to heavenly; something he'd never truly feel again. Charles tried again to tell himself, 'This is fake. Not real, don't get used to it.' But it was far too late for control and Charles was rolling up his pant legs. He sprinted toward the waves. He felt the strain of running on sand, his thighs working hard to propel him forward. He tore off his cardigan and ran sluggishly through the water. He felt strong. His legs felt strong. The cool water brushed his legs and feeling it, just _feeling_ it…

His pleasure was interrupted by a giant splash as a large figure dove into the water beside him. Charles smiled sadly at the dark form beneath the surface that was Erik and joined him under the water. He opened his eyes and they stung. He stared at how ridiculous the man looked, hair flailing wildly, cheeks puffed out with air. Charles gently laid a hand on his cheek, 'Calm your mind.' He pulled him up and when they resurfaced, they were in the middle of the ocean, where they had first met. They stared at each other while treading water and gasping for air. They were both thinking, 'You're not alone.' Charles's face distorted into something Erik didn't recognize as he dove under the water again but before he could hear Charles's thoughts, he was hit with a wall of mentally transmitted pain. Erik followed Charles under, but instead of seeing him there as he expected, Charles was standing and climbing out of the fountain at the mansion. Erik simply sat up, and watched as Charles's clothes clung to him. His white dress shirt was semi-transparent and Erik realized he'd never seen Charles wear anything tight. He quickly closed his eyes and tried not to think about it. Then he remembered the pain Charles had practically thrown at him. "Charles, what was that?" He picked himself up and followed Charles out of the fountain. He was frozen in place when a harsh voice Charles didn't mean for Erik to hear filled his mind. 'Maybe I can't put a wall between us right now, but I can distract you with pain.' Erik easily caught up to Charles and grabbed his wrist. It was Charles's turn to freeze, but he kept his back to Erik. Again, Erik noticed how the shirt clung to the small of his back, Erik's breath hitched, but again, he ignored the urges. He was sure Charles didn't feel anywhere near the same. Charles turned around slowly. Upon seeing the usually gentle eyes filled with rage, Erik's grip loosened on Charles wrist. But the eyes were still that devastating blue and Charles's hair was wet and the water made it darker, and, like the clothing, it clung to him and all Erik could think was, 'You're not alone, Charles.' Charles broke eye contact with a pulse of desperation shared between them. "No, Erik." His voice was shaky. "Erik, I can't. We-" Erik stared into his friend's eyes, but Charles refused to look, keeping his gaze hovering over Erik's shoulder.

"Charles, you said yourself, this is fake. If you indulged yourself in the falseness of your lost legs, what's to stop you from indulging yourself in…" Erik hesitated but with a final decision to not hold back, he said it. "in lost love?"

At the word, Charles ripped his wrist out of Erik's grasp. Again, Erik felt the pain Charles was sending to protect his thoughts. Erik nearly growled. "Enough!" He threw his own pain at Charles. "You think I can't take it? Dammit, Charles! The worst pain you could show me is-" He didn't mean to bring it up but the thought was there and again their environment dragged it out from his mind and shared it.

_They were at the beach, Erik holding Charles, both covered in blood from where the bullet had travelled through his heart. Charles's body was limp in Erik's arms._

Erik wasn't sure how to react to the thought being shown to Charles, so he didn't move. Charles turned around and glanced at his friend. In his eyes was a mixture of reluctance, fear, and…something else.

~x~

The moment the helmet had come off, Azazel teleported all of them away and Emma directed him to the X-Men's jet. She'd heard Charles say 'I'm sorry, Erik.' as he locked their minds from Jean. Jean was extremely powerful and Charles had acted just in time. How he managed this wall around both of them, Emma wasn't sure. She also wasn't sure how he planned to get them out.

Azazel placed Erik in an empty seat. The kids sat in stunned silence at the sudden change of events. Sean finally spoke up. "Um. What's going on? What happened to the professor?" He glanced at the two limp forms. "…and Magneto?"

Alex was looking between the two men. "Was it Jean? I'll kill her. I'll kill her if she-"

"They're not dead." Emma cut him off. "They're trapped and we need to keep Erik in Charles's radius and make sure they stay trapped."

Alex scoffed. "Excuse me? We _want_ them to stay like this?"

Emma tensed, but tried not to lash out in frustration, it wouldn't help the situation any. "They either get themselves out, or we force them apart and risk losing them both." Emma imagined they could both be trapped in Charles's mind. Or maybe he trapped himself in Erik's mind. Either way, separating them could trap them there like that. One of them would remain a lifeless body while the other…well, she'd rather not think about that because she was going to make sure it _didn't happen._

Upon landing, Azazel took both men to the bedroom-turned-infirmary Charles had stayed in during his recovery. Charles had decided to place a few twin beds in the large room for any future emergency.

Both men were still as they laid in adjacent beds. Had Charles's usual ambient aura not been silent, they could've been sleeping. They were all used to that buzz of warmth Charles's mind constantly radiated, but this empty void led them to think of time that, only because they were looking back on, were simpler. It was like before Cuba. The two men going around being childish, filled with laughter that was younger than them and their smiles flashing sophomorically. Alex imagined this was simply him catching them playing 'hide and seek' again. Charles said it was part of his training, finding Erik's mind throughout the mansion, and in a way it was, but he saw the way they looked at each other. They all saw it.

Sean remembered when Raven had had that break down. She had felt guilty ever since they younger mutants had discussed the older ones' odd relationship. She had gone to Erik one night. Had Charles picked up anything? Did he know she had kissed the man that meant so much to him?

They broke out of their memories as they saw the chair, and Erik's helmet on the table between them was the only thing out of place in their false realities. 'No.' Alex thought to himself. 'Charles was always pushing to not worry about the past. To push for the future.' He forced himself to remember that Raven and Erik were no longer friends. They _betrayed_ them. 'If something is gone, no matter how much you loved it, you must forget.' He wondered if Charles considered Raven gone; if he had been trying to forget her and Erik. For Charles's sake, Alex hoped he had.


	7. Chapter 7

After a moment of silence, Charles shook his head. "No. This is different."

Erik's shoulders fell. "What happened to your hope? Have I caused you to lose it? Do you no longer have hope for me?"

Charles sighed. "What happened to the man against the world? Why, when I'm so vulnerable, do you aim for your enemy's heart but not his loyalty?"

"We're not enemies. Surely love and loyalty are the same."

"No!" Charles ran out of distractions and his thoughts erupted into the open. He figured he may as well just say them rather than have his subconscious control it. "God, yes, Erik. Yes, I want to, but I can't let myself. I have hope that you will mend your ways so we can both be a part of a bright new world, but I do not have hope that we can be together while we build it. If we are together, we will no doubt allow ourselves distractions and I will not give myself the opportunity. Not that we should even be worrying about the real world, because we're currently stuck in here and for God's sake, Erik, I need to think."

Erik wasn't thinking of the real world and all he heard of Charles's speech was 'God, yes.' When those red lips fell silent, Erik brought their faces together. Charles didn't move, waiting for his words to set in and for Erik to listen. When Erik didn't move away he spoke, "Erik, please no." His voice cracked with pain. "Once I know what it's like, I won't be able to get it out of my head."

Erik smirked with a desperate, but earnest look in his eyes. "Is that a promise?" Their lips met and Charles accepted that Erik would not leave him alone until this was figured out, so he waited.

When Erik didn't pull away, he did. "Erik. Why. Why now?"

Erik shrugged. "I decided long ago that this must be a dream, and even if it's not, I want this." He stared into Charles's eyes. "I've _wanted_ this."

Charles scoffed. "More than mutant supremacy?"

Erik faltered and Charles sighed. "Then it's a no, Erik." He looked away. "Now let me think."

Within moments, thoughts were swirling through Charles's mind. 'When I created this boundary, what was I thinking? How was I thinking? What form did I give it? Was it a box? Maybe a sphere. Did I trap us both or surround my consciousness around his? God, why can't I remember?'

Erik sat back and reluctantly thought of the real world and the real problems he was facing. Jean for one, Raven the other. Erik cursed quietly. If Charles picked up anything about Raven he would-

"YOU ALLOWED MY SISTER TO DO _WHAT_?" Charles was seething. Erik had never seen him like this. Charles's eyebrow twitched furiously.

Erik knew it was pointless to defend himself, but he had to try. "She wanted to, Charles. And you know the advantages it'll bring us!"

Tension, worry, fear and a large amount of rage was pouring from Charles at Erik. In the psychic atmosphere, it was nearly a physical force. "Maybe it will, if she succeeds." Memories flicked through Charles's mind. Oxford, alcohol, accidents, slip ups. The times he had to use his power to avoid detection whenever Raven slipped. And now… "Do you know how easy it is for her to slip? She can't drink alcohol or she'll lose focus and slip back into her natural blue form. Coronel Henry liked to drink. God, Erik. _Think_! If they catch her, who was she last associated with when the CIA met her? _Me_. No, Moira won't be of help, she doesn't remember you. Or anything else about us for that matter." A kiss flashed through Charles's mind as he remembered erasing her memories, but the tension suddenly switched sides and Charles was pummeled with negative energy.

Erik forced his way into Charles's memories. A kiss. "You love her." His eyes were blank. Like when he killed Shaw. Those eyes, staring into Charles's again. The anger was there. The anger Charles had tried so hard to prevent, and now he'd caused it. "That's why you won't let me-"

Charles wouldn't admit to it later, but he punched Erik square in the jaw. His voice was raspy after yelling. "You don't know _anything_."

The anger radiating out of Erik somehow built. If anything made Erik as mad as the humans made him, it was being called stupid. No matter how indirectly. He rubbed his jaw, but didn't even consider punching Charles back. He'd already hurt him enough. "If I don't know anything, then please. Enlighten me, Charles." He growled out the name, voice coated in sarcasm.

Charles simply glared, all his rules broken. All his control, gone. Maybe Erik was right that day in the study. Maybe he _was _arrogant. But he was not about to lose a word war against a man who had endangered his sister. "Who I love and who I tell is my business but since it would only take you a moment to rip that information from my mind right now, I will tell you that I do not love Moira. She was a good friend. Yes, I flirted with her but, God help me, Erik, I've flirted with a lot of women. You can ask Raven when she _gets back_. Because she will get back. And for a moment, let's play with the idea that she doesn't come back."

Erik interrupted. "A lot of women?" A fresh batch of anger was launched at him. Erik simply waited out Charles's mental fit. His curiosity was currently taking precedence to his anger, but Charles couldn't tell right now and there was no need for him to know, so Erik kept up his stoic façade.

When Charles had once again sorted through his thoughts and calmed down, he spoke with relative ease. "Yes, women. It is quite generally frowned upon for a man to flirt with another man in public-"

"We're not in public." Erik's eyes were burning with an emotion Charles didn't care to place, but the rest of his expression was guarded.

Charles felt the eyes on his and couldn't help the blush. Erik was thinking of kissing him again. Charles took a few deep breaths until the blush subsided. "I can't, Erik. Neither of us can, but you seem to be ignoring possibilities, so let me be the one to say we _can't_. Remember what you said about mutants? 'Society won't accept us.' I can't bring a bad reputation to the school. It's just starting up. All I need is more controversy delaying the paperwork."

Emotions were flashing through Erik so fast, he nearly asked Charles to hit him again. "So this comes down to paperwork. You set me aside as secondary to paperwork. If I'm even second! I assume Raven would be second, then. Maybe Cerebro reconstruction is third? The school itself fourth? Should I keep going? Where do I stand, Charles? Tell me that."

Charles's shoulders dropped and everything in his expression was weak, but his eyes remained strong. With a steady gaze he turned from Erik. His voice was barely even a whisper. "Please, my friend. Just let me think."

* * *

><p>helloooo. so i was bored today and this happened. .compost/10607624555/im-not-sure-why-i-did-this-its-for-my-fic-i  
>right click on the pictures and press open in new window to see them bigger. i'll post this link at the end of chapter 2 as well, since that's when i introduced this setting.<p> 


	8. Chapter 8a

There was an unspoken agreement in the ward for there to be a line between the two beds. Half the room for the Brotherhood, half for the X-Men. The two still forms were never left alone. Always watched over by at least one person from each side. Alex and Emma were currently at their corresponding bedsides.

The invisible line blurred when Charles's eyes opened. Alex didn't even notice at first. Charles lied still, trying to sort out the barrier. How he'd ended up outside of it, he wasn't sure. But he still wasn't completely free.

Emma crossed the line. "Where's Erik?"

Alex looked up, surprised. "You're back!"

Charles's eyes remained unfocused and unmoving. It took some time, but he managed to say, "No."

And his eyes fell shut.

-x-

The sound of waves terrorized Erik as Charles lied limp in the sand. Charles had been pacing when he suddenly collapsed and all Erik could think was, "Not again."

He ran to the body in the sand and held him in an all too familiar embrace. The same as the last time they touched before…

But this was different. Charles was gone. Not breathing. Erik's nightmare come true. The bullet had killed the least violent man he knew. Erik cursed the tears on his cheek. He cursed the guilt, cursed how much he cared for Charles, how much he wished the heart under his hand would beat again. Erik's eyes closed and his head fell, tears still forcing their way through tightly closed lids.

Charles regained his senses in the psychological world and felt Erik's gentle touch, a hand on his chest. The thoughts hit him suddenly. "My fault, so sorry, dead, my fault, not you. Oh God, Charles. Not you."

Charles smiled gently. "My friend, I'm alright."

Erik blinked a few times before looking up. He cleared his throat, relief seeping through him. "Did you figure it out?"

Charles wiped a tear from Erik's cheek. "It's not a box, or a sphere. It's a cylinder. Which is why I expect I left you for awhile as I was expecting a sphere. I must've stepped out of the barrier, but it wasn't enough to bring it down. I must've made it very strong."

Erik just watched as Charles moved, _alive_. Neither of them spoke of the scenery, or the embrace, or the memories, but the fact that neither of them moved away was enough.

Erik wasn't sure how he had enough coherency to ask, "Have you ever done something like this before?"

Charles's happy countenance flickered into utmost defeat. "Well, yes. But never this strong. Our abilities are tied to our emotions and…"

Erik unconsciously leaned forward slightly. "…and?"

Charles pressed his lips together, determining whether he should continue, but the thought already floated out of his mind. 'I've never felt so strongly about protecting anyone until you.'

One side of Erik's mouth pulled up into a smile, but it wasn't a smirk. Fondness was visible in his eyes. Erik's hand moved from Charles's chest toward his face. Charles grabbed Erik's hand and stopped him. "My friend…" He wasn't sure what to say.

Erik's smile faultered as he shook out of Charles's grip to run his hand through the gentle curls of Charles's hair. "I don't like when you call me that. It's so formal."

Wickeness smothered Charles's eyes. "I'm sorry, _darling_."

Erik got up, dumping Charles face first into the sand. Regardless of the face full of dirt, Charles's laughter rang clearly above the sound of the waves. He squirmed into a better position while Erik ranted. "Angel _still_ laughs at me for that! And now Emma is in on it! And _I don't even know what the hell it is._ I've waited long enough. Please, Charles. The curiosity is killing me. What did you show her?"

Charles was having a hard time containing his laughter as he'd already recreated the image. He sat up properly in the sand before saying, "Look down."

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading. I'm not sure if it's remained interesting and if you guys like it enough to continue full force. I would appreciate it if you gave me your HONEST opinion. I'll tell you a secret: I like hate mail. It's more productive than praise so please, have at it!<p> 


	9. Chapter 8b

For the first time in his life, Erik Lehnsherr blushed.

All the jokes he hadn't understood ran through his head. The mockery was remembered and rage built in him. "Fuck you, Charles."

Charles only laughed. "Do you want to? So my charm does only work on women!"

Erik wanted to be mad, ashamed, furious…but he truly only wanted Charles to kiss him. The dress faded back into his normal outfit of slacks and a turtleneck. And finally, there was fondness returned in Charles's eyes. Erik didn't say anything, fearing he'd say something wrong. He simply waited as Charles stepped closer. Both of their wants and needs flitting between them. Charles wondered if it were really so wrong to use this time for themselves before getting out. "Erik…" Charles placed his hands on Erik's chest gently as if something might shatter. Everything in Charles's eyes was broken and unsure. Erik took a slow step forward, testing the waters. "Only if you want to, Charles."

Charles tilted his head up hesitantly. He could feel Erik's breath on his lips, the patience visible in Erik's eyes. Charles closed his eyes. Erik smiled as Charles's lips landed on his. He closed his eyes also. They both pulled away, their noses still touching and simply breathed together. Erik's hands fell to Charles's waist, mentally questioning if every move he made was alright. Charles kissed his way to Erik's collar bone and buried his head in Erik's shoulder. They didn't move for quite some time. Both just enjoying being together.

Erik barely noticed when Charles started crying, but thoughts of the wheelchair were hard to ignore. "You keep asking me if we can continue this once we leave…but we can't." The last word was a sob as Charles looked down at his bare feet in the sand, wiggling his toes. Charles glanced up into his friend's eyes, knowing all too well what he'd been thinking of doing.

Sure it was embarrassing for such thoughts to be out in the open, but Erik didn't mind with Charles. He said all that he could. "Only if you want to." Erik waited for the cool air that would mean Charles left him, the rejection as the contact ceased, so he was more than surprised to find a teary eyed Charles kissing him with more passion and heat than a human should be capable of. The thoughts and feelings circulated between them. The smell of salt faded as Charles changed the scenery back to the mansion.


	10. Chapter 9

The kiss slowed as Charles walked backwards toward the bed, trying not to think that this shouldn't be possible. That he's half paralyzed, lost his chance, but it felt so real. Too often, these last few months, had he regretted not being forward with Erik, but remembered fearing his own feelings. A man. He wasn't sure it was okay for him to like a man, but Erik didn't seem to be having these problems and was all too eager to see Charles's bare skin. Erik was unbuttoning Charles's shirt and Charles grabbed his hands again. Erik felt the odd vibe from Charles; uncertainty, fear of his own sexuality, the fact that he'd never felt for a man like this. And it was only Erik. What was it about this man that caught his breath and heated his cheeks? Charles stared at Erik, questioning himself. What was so special about _this_ male that altered his own attractions?

Erik smiled. "This isn't science class, Charles." Charles frowned and sat on the bed in his room where Erik joined him. Charles moved close, tracking from Erik's shoulder to his collar bone, his hand shaking as it moved down his chest to his hip, then thigh, avoiding his groin at all cost. Charles was grateful that Erik understood and allowed him to explore being with another man, moving so slowly. "You've never been with a man."

It wasn't a question and Charles didn't look up as he kept touching only respectable parts of the other man's body. Charles scoffed. "Have you?"

The warmth flickered out of Erik's eyes as he answered. "You could say that. It's been awhile though." Erik closed his eyes as Charles's touches became gradually braver, but Charles had asked about his past and it resurfaced all too easily.

_The men and women were always kept separate and a few of them gave up on themselves enough to experiment. Erik, who was kept in Schmidt's house: not working, his hands soft, young, only flawed by a few scars and bruises, found himself coveted_.

A single tear fell from Charles's eyes, but it was ignored as his fingers tugged at the bottom of Erik's turtleneck, tickling the skin beneath. Erik pulled it off. His back arched gently as he peeled it off his torso. Charles had never seen a turtleneck removed from around the head so smoothly, but he assumed Erik had practice.

Erik and Charles had changed in front of each other plenty of times as they travelled together, but they never allowed themselves to stare. Charles knew there were scares, but realizing just how many there were… Gashes and scrapes, dull and sharp, cleanly healed and infected.

Charles unintentionally twitched away when Erik's hand returned to his shirt, but Erik didn't back off this time. He undid the last button, being careful to avoid contact Charles wasn't ready for yet, and places his hands on Charles's shoulders under the shirt to slide it off. Erik fully intended to move slowly, but couldn't help teasing as he used his power on Charles belt buckle, causing the man to tense. Erik laughed softly and moved behind him, the tips of his fingers tracing Charles's shoulder blades. He moved his thumb from Charles's neck to his shoulder, feeling the tension. "Relax, Charles." He pulled on his elbow to have him lie down. His back was to Erik and Erik slowly moved forward. Erik felt Charles shudder against his chest, but it was more of another twitch to move away. Erik slid his hands from Charles's back to his waist and around to embrace him.

It was only then that Charles relaxed a little and leaded back. "Erik…" Erik kisses the back of Charles's neck and moved to whisper directly in Charles's ear. "What is it?"

Charles twisted in the embrace, face crumpling, a little uncomfortable, as he still struggled to adjust to being with a man. "Have I ever told you you're amazing?" His eyes stared, clear and happy, into Erik's mischievous gaze.

"But we're hardly done yet, our pants aren't even off."

Charles frowned as he blushed. "That's not what I meant."

Erik smiled brushing their noses together. "I know, Charles." He kissed the bridge of his nose. "And so are you."


	11. Chapter 10

It was that moment that Erik lost all traces of composure. The hard shell he almost subconsciously kept up fell.

It took a few blinks for Erik to register that he was staring at the ceiling. He heard Charles swear from the bed beside him. Erik longed to be next to him, to continue, but it was too late.

"It was you, Erik." Charles spoke, keeping very still pretending as if he hadn't lost his legs. "I wrapped us in your consciousness. It wasn't until _you_ let go that we got out." Erik and Charles didn't even hear Azazel and Hank's calls for attention. Erik got up and laid in Charles's bed, making the others go silent and leave the room. Charles tried to turn toward Erik. He closed his eyes to hold back the tears. "Erik…I can't. We can't. Not...not anymore."

Erik placed his hands on Charles's waist and they both winced as Erik turned Charles and his legs fell limply into place. He brought their chests together and Charles's head fell into the now familiar spot by Erik's collarbone. There was a knock on the door and Hank walked in after an apparent argument with the others.

"I…um…hate to interrupt, but I need to see if you're alright because…well we won't worry about that until after we test-"

Erik felt Charles tense in his arms. His sobs stopped almost immediately and his voice came out clear and even. "No, Hank. I'm afraid there's no time for testing. Erik, would you help me stop Jean, even though you could use her on your…side?"

He knew the answer before he asked. The distance the two men had ignored in their minds had returned between them. Again they ignored Hank. Erik put both his hands on Charles's face.

He moved his lips slowly toward Charles's and he saw in Charles's eyes the desperation and need for what they'd been about to do. Erik brought their lips together gently and pulled himself to Charles so their hips were flush. He didn't know what Charles could feel, but it didn't matter. Charles's hand slipped under Erik's shirt and he ran his fingers along Erik's spine. Erik allowed his hands to move back from Charles's face to let his fingers run through his hair. Then his fingers traced down his neck to his shoulders, his shoulder blades, his back, the scar, then-

_No farther than that, Erik. I don't want to think about what I can't feel_.

They spoke without stopping the kiss. Erik could feel the tears on their cheeks, taste them where they slipped into their mouths. He didn't know if the tears were his or Charles's or if they were both crying. They stopped, their mouths still open next to each other, and opened their eyes. The rage that came from knowing what should happen when they stopped, the serenity of the moment. They never wanted to stop, but at some point they would have to. And they would have to say goodbye.

They don't know how long they kissed for, but they knew it'd be their last.


	12. Chapter 11

The bed was empty. Charles knew the bed was empty, has been empty. It didn't keep him from returning to the room day after day. The brother hood had had another victory and Charles watched Jean slip out of his control and into _Magneto's_, because that man was _not_ Erik. Charles wanted to be angry, betrayed, but he just felt lonely. The house filled as more and more lost mutants trickled into its doors. The more lost mutants who found their place, the more Charles lost his.

Years passed and Charles found he'd fallen into a numbness. He was Professor X in the same way Erik was Magneto, locking away the mutual feelings that made everything harder. Trying so hard not to let them slip into the open. The love would make everything seem easier, but would truly make it harder. They both knew that. They didn't see each other very often after that. Once every few years, they would meet in a conflict.

And this was the last one.

It was the first time Professor X had seen Magneto and Jean together since they'd all first met in in Philadelphia, that far off memory that seemed to exist in a different life. It took only a second for Jean to scan his mind. For her decision to be made. For everything to end.

Erik stood still for quite some time afterwards. He'd taken off his helmet upon seeing Charles. They'd both been thinking about how much time they had left. They'd reached a fragile age.

'Charles…' Professor X had stumbled. The intimacy grew with the mention of his name and not his title.

'Erik, your helmet-'

'I love you.'

'I love you t-'

The desperation, the passion, the emptiness, the need, the desire, the regret, all the things that passed through such simple words. All things that vanished as Charles did. And all Erik could do was watch the particles drift away in the wind. He tried so hard to track them all with his eyes, longing the pieces to reassemble. His only friend, his only love, his only hope. He didn't care that he stood while a battle raged around him. He didn't notice the cure shot fired into his neck. He just tried to rewind. Rewind all of this back to their time together. The intimacy within their minds that they weren't allowed even then.

He walked away from the war. Walked away from the Brotherhood. Allowed the X-Men to win. He reached a park eventually and couldn't help but notice the chess board. Somewhere along his walk, the cure shot had fallen from his neck. He sat at the board. His move, a move Charles would've made, his move, Charles', Erik, Charles, Erik, Charles. He almost believed it. When Erik had a checkmate against Charles, he froze, staring at the remaining pieces. Some were on the side, captured, killed, _gone_. Their lives weren't a game. Erik had been treating this whole situation like another game of chess. Erik couldn't watch the X-Men lose their king again. He allowed opposing pieces to remain standing. The black king fell, clattering to the board.

"Good game, Charles."

* * *

><p>If you want to read a sort of "epilogue" you can read this one shot I wrote . Hope you liked it, sorry I wrapped it up so fast, but if I had tried to write the whole story in between, it would've been boring and you wouldn't have liked it. Let me know what your final thoughts are! As always, I welcome honesty.<p> 


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